Marcos teaching children.
The future of Jiu-Jitsu.Spin through the Midwest
May the cold winds punish us if we do not start our spin through the associations of the US Midwest in Chicago.
Gracie Barra Chicago inside, where Eddie teaches another class. To the right, the spot reserved for praying.
It was before the cold and after, long after, prohibition ended that we visited the building in which Eddie Redzovic houses Gracie Barra Chicago, on the outskirts of the city, where there are no skyscrapers and the traffic is not gridlock.
Adem played host to us, since, at the end of September, Eddie was in Bosnia, from where his family emigrated last century. Calm, organized and focused, the youngest Redzovic brother alternates between administrative duties and Jiu-Jitsu classes, and follows the lead of his brother Eddie, who in recent years has come quite close to the Islam practiced by his family members. And he keeps a prayer room in the gym among the many environments in the gym, which is in a phase of expansion. Soon there will be yet another large mat area to join the ample installations already in use.
Three hours to the south-east, also in the state of Illinois, we arrive at Marcos Barros’ gym, in Springfield. Well, perhaps it is not the city of the Simpsons, as we weren’t able to find Moe’s Tavern, but the fields of corn and soy along the highway, and the devotion of the students in the afternoon class indicate that we have come a little closer to the grassroots of the region, which is quite rural, despite its proximity to metropolitan Chicago and its weird laws.
Marcos is from São Paulo, and practiced Jiu-Jitsu for many years in Campinas, before becoming a trainee teaching classes in Gracie Barra in Rio, spending a season in South Korea, and finally landing in a US town like any other, or at least that is what the sitcom would have us believe about Springfield.
But yes, this is a special place, where the parents watch their kids playing on the mats wearing their gis to do the same in the next class hour. Robson Gracie, 16 years of age and 1 meter 90 centimeters tall was the attraction of the day. He, who had come to see his brother Renzo face Pat Miletich in the IFL, did not rest from his trip and trained in Marcos’ gym the afternoon of that Wednesday, September 20.
The trip had not ended when the compass’ needle pointed north, and Thales Blaso, of Wisconsin, joined GMA. We had an appointment in Moline, so we would have to put off visiting this new member till a later date. As we would the trips to see the other two members not so far away: The Ribeiro brothers – who you will see a lot of in this issue, in the best of Jiu-Jitsu in 2006, and Amal Easton, because we don’t believe that Colorado is part of the Midwest. Anyways, my friend, we would rather go to Colorado once the cold has arrived. And there is snow.
May the cold winds punish us if we do not start our spin through the associations of the US Midwest in Chicago.
Gracie Barra Chicago inside, where Eddie teaches another class. To the right, the spot reserved for praying.
It was before the cold and after, long after, prohibition ended that we visited the building in which Eddie Redzovic houses Gracie Barra Chicago, on the outskirts of the city, where there are no skyscrapers and the traffic is not gridlock.
Adem played host to us, since, at the end of September, Eddie was in Bosnia, from where his family emigrated last century. Calm, organized and focused, the youngest Redzovic brother alternates between administrative duties and Jiu-Jitsu classes, and follows the lead of his brother Eddie, who in recent years has come quite close to the Islam practiced by his family members. And he keeps a prayer room in the gym among the many environments in the gym, which is in a phase of expansion. Soon there will be yet another large mat area to join the ample installations already in use.
Three hours to the south-east, also in the state of Illinois, we arrive at Marcos Barros’ gym, in Springfield. Well, perhaps it is not the city of the Simpsons, as we weren’t able to find Moe’s Tavern, but the fields of corn and soy along the highway, and the devotion of the students in the afternoon class indicate that we have come a little closer to the grassroots of the region, which is quite rural, despite its proximity to metropolitan Chicago and its weird laws.
Marcos is from São Paulo, and practiced Jiu-Jitsu for many years in Campinas, before becoming a trainee teaching classes in Gracie Barra in Rio, spending a season in South Korea, and finally landing in a US town like any other, or at least that is what the sitcom would have us believe about Springfield.
But yes, this is a special place, where the parents watch their kids playing on the mats wearing their gis to do the same in the next class hour. Robson Gracie, 16 years of age and 1 meter 90 centimeters tall was the attraction of the day. He, who had come to see his brother Renzo face Pat Miletich in the IFL, did not rest from his trip and trained in Marcos’ gym the afternoon of that Wednesday, September 20.
The trip had not ended when the compass’ needle pointed north, and Thales Blaso, of Wisconsin, joined GMA. We had an appointment in Moline, so we would have to put off visiting this new member till a later date. As we would the trips to see the other two members not so far away: The Ribeiro brothers – who you will see a lot of in this issue, in the best of Jiu-Jitsu in 2006, and Amal Easton, because we don’t believe that Colorado is part of the Midwest. Anyways, my friend, we would rather go to Colorado once the cold has arrived. And there is snow.
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